I have chosen Evening Primrose as my herbal ally. I discovered that it is growing wild just a block away and have started cultivating it since I discovered it last fall. I will be working with other herbs that are my allies as well. I chose Dandelion, Red Clover and Cleavers for my humorous regime and will be working with them for this year and always. I have loved Dandelion since I was a child and remember a story and plan to write several stories about him! Red Clover, too, goes back to my childhood and life long love of bees. Cleavers was a hidden treasure, I've always known it was there, but only discovered its beauty and abudant loving nature this last spring. I am also working extensively with Marshmallow(Mallow) learning about her bounty and gifts is beyond words. I have just started working with elder and have several herbs that I am excited to meet and learn more about. More later! Cheers©Allisonians Please ask me for permission to use my photos or writing
Here is a link for Evening Primrose for my reference. Elder is there as well.
http://www.indianayurvedaonline.blogspot.com/2010/09/evening-primrose-oil-oenothera-biennis.html
So, if it isn't apparent in my blog which is my ally, it is, I must admit, because I have more than one. :D
Thursday, January 19, 2012
SamSaRic; the cycle of life; my morning commute(yesterday); An article that wraps it up to a tee
Have a great day, and remember, when all else fails Be A duck! :D
From Lemon Lavender Polents
"...Maybe it isn’t possible or preferable to have a clean break.Maybe the whole point isn’t to not miss places, but to experience them with every fiber of your being, and then when (if) you move on it will be without regrets. Maybe the pain doesn’t come from being away, but from trying to hold on to what is no longer there. From the tension created by trying to be everywhere at once instead of exactly where you are, wherever that might be. And with that in mind, with the nuances of my garden hanging out with the lemons from the desert, I understood: you can be somewhere and let go at the same time. Love it without holding onto it. And each time you do, you get just a little bit bigger. Maybe even a little bit wiser. And that, to me, right now, is what it’s all about. ..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All I can say is that this article touched me in several ways. Leaving things, and Lavender and of course communing with myself via my liver. I am going to go check my muchie lavender patch. We got 6-10" of snow in about 4 hours that melted within 12-16 hours. It is raining that cold chill your bone kind of rain now here in the valley, but the mountains are still interesting, or so I hear. Hybernation is the nation I want to be in.
Love you all, Allison
©Allisonians Please ask me if you would like to use my photos or writing. It's really only vanity. Hugs. I know what you're thinking. Or, can only imagine. :D
From Lemon Lavender Polents
Lavender, Letting Go and The Liver
link; http://www.cauldronsandcrockpots.com/2012/01/lemon-lavender-polenta-cake/"...Maybe it isn’t possible or preferable to have a clean break.Maybe the whole point isn’t to not miss places, but to experience them with every fiber of your being, and then when (if) you move on it will be without regrets. Maybe the pain doesn’t come from being away, but from trying to hold on to what is no longer there. From the tension created by trying to be everywhere at once instead of exactly where you are, wherever that might be. And with that in mind, with the nuances of my garden hanging out with the lemons from the desert, I understood: you can be somewhere and let go at the same time. Love it without holding onto it. And each time you do, you get just a little bit bigger. Maybe even a little bit wiser. And that, to me, right now, is what it’s all about. ..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All I can say is that this article touched me in several ways. Leaving things, and Lavender and of course communing with myself via my liver. I am going to go check my muchie lavender patch. We got 6-10" of snow in about 4 hours that melted within 12-16 hours. It is raining that cold chill your bone kind of rain now here in the valley, but the mountains are still interesting, or so I hear. Hybernation is the nation I want to be in.
Love you all, Allison
©Allisonians Please ask me if you would like to use my photos or writing. It's really only vanity. Hugs. I know what you're thinking. Or, can only imagine. :D
Friday, January 13, 2012
The Herbal Ally. I have not prepared my list for submission and am adding this as a note and reminder for me. I found it from Moozle who found it from another, which we also receieved as a January Task for the Apprenticeship. I also have some other notes on the subject and may publish them and/or organize them from Reference purpose. :D
When reading in moozle '
Their Friday, 30 December 2011Herbal Ally Post.
Finding a herbal ally
(taken from Kristine Brown’s blog Dancing in a Field of Tansy http://fieldoftansy.blogspot.com/2010/12/herbal-ally.html )
The idea of a herbal ally comes from Gail Faith Edwards in her book, “Opening our wild hearts to the healing herbs” She says
"Pick a new plant each year to focus on. Be sure to grow the plant, or meet it in the wild, observe it, make different medicines and foods with it, use it in many ways, consume it regularly, or use as applicable as often as possible, and constantly observe. Noting all you observe. Keeping your own notes is critically important. Learn to meditate with plants. Learn to take care of them, learn to process and use them, one by one. Fall in love with each and every plant you work with, one by one. Recognize the living being there, the spirit of the plant. Respect its power. Open your wild heart to it."
Susan Weed suggests “Choose a plant that grows very near to you ... no more than a one-minute walk from your door. You don't need to know the name of the plant, or anything about it. You will be sitting with your plant every day, so, if possible, choose one that grows in a quiet and lovely place ... in a pot on your balcony is just fine ... in a park is great ... so is an alley ... or a backyard. "
Susun offers six different green ally exercises to get to know the ally more intimately.
1. Meditate/sit and breathe with your green ally for 3-10 minutes a day
2. Make a detailed drawing of the ally as accurate as possible. Next make a soft, impressionistic drawing
3. Find out what parts of the ally are typically used. Find out if other parts are useful. Make oils, tinctures and vinegars of all the useful plant parts (separately)
4. Observe the conditions the plant chooses to grow in.
5. Write a story from the point of view of your green ally. (If you have trouble getting started, write a warm up page praising your green ally and telling him/her how much you like him/her and why.
6. Introduce a friend to your green ally. Tell them all about your ally.
You may wish to include these other exercises
· write a song about your green ally
· write poems about your green ally
· if edible, eat your green ally as often as possible
try your ally in tea form
· start some seeds of your green ally so i can watch him grow from a seedling into full life
· harvest your ally at all stages of growth
· sketch, draw, paint your ally at all stages of growth
Their Friday, 30 December 2011Herbal Ally Post.
Finding a herbal ally
(taken from Kristine Brown’s blog Dancing in a Field of Tansy http://fieldoftansy.blogspot.com/2010/12/herbal-ally.html )
The idea of a herbal ally comes from Gail Faith Edwards in her book, “Opening our wild hearts to the healing herbs” She says
"Pick a new plant each year to focus on. Be sure to grow the plant, or meet it in the wild, observe it, make different medicines and foods with it, use it in many ways, consume it regularly, or use as applicable as often as possible, and constantly observe. Noting all you observe. Keeping your own notes is critically important. Learn to meditate with plants. Learn to take care of them, learn to process and use them, one by one. Fall in love with each and every plant you work with, one by one. Recognize the living being there, the spirit of the plant. Respect its power. Open your wild heart to it."
Susan Weed suggests “Choose a plant that grows very near to you ... no more than a one-minute walk from your door. You don't need to know the name of the plant, or anything about it. You will be sitting with your plant every day, so, if possible, choose one that grows in a quiet and lovely place ... in a pot on your balcony is just fine ... in a park is great ... so is an alley ... or a backyard. "
Susun offers six different green ally exercises to get to know the ally more intimately.
1. Meditate/sit and breathe with your green ally for 3-10 minutes a day
2. Make a detailed drawing of the ally as accurate as possible. Next make a soft, impressionistic drawing
3. Find out what parts of the ally are typically used. Find out if other parts are useful. Make oils, tinctures and vinegars of all the useful plant parts (separately)
4. Observe the conditions the plant chooses to grow in.
5. Write a story from the point of view of your green ally. (If you have trouble getting started, write a warm up page praising your green ally and telling him/her how much you like him/her and why.
6. Introduce a friend to your green ally. Tell them all about your ally.
You may wish to include these other exercises
· write a song about your green ally
· write poems about your green ally
· if edible, eat your green ally as often as possible
try your ally in tea form
· start some seeds of your green ally so i can watch him grow from a seedling into full life
· harvest your ally at all stages of growth
· sketch, draw, paint your ally at all stages of growth
Thursday, January 12, 2012
The Mighty Columbia RIver with the majestic Mt. St. Helens in the background.
"On a Day of New Beginnings
And The same day of letting go;
I do sail with imagination to the place(s) I want to go!"
Allison :D
Roll on Columbia, Roll On!
©Allisonians Please ask me for permission to use my photos or writing
And The same day of letting go;
I do sail with imagination to the place(s) I want to go!"
Allison :D
Roll on Columbia, Roll On!
Tiny House Drafting
There are some simply stunning little homes on this site! I love the Gnome home;
Linky;
http://tinyhouseblog.com/tiny-house-concept/gnome-home/
ticking the title takes you to the site as well. I have been forgetting to say so when I publish this way. :D
Linky;
http://tinyhouseblog.com/tiny-house-concept/gnome-home/
ticking the title takes you to the site as well. I have been forgetting to say so when I publish this way. :D
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
My Clover Patch in Winter! It was a beautiful day here. Standing in Kelso, WA facing South the background hills are Rainier, Oregon. :D
Saturday, January 7, 2012
HERE NOW IS THE ANCIENT ELDER BUSH THAT I FOUND LAST FALL AND WAS allowed/ALOUD TO PICK THE BERRIES FROM FOR THE MOST FABULOUS JAM EVER! I HAD NOT HAD IT BEFORE~~~YUMMYYYY
I don't have a good working camera besides my phone camera. I wish I had zoom for this one. As I drove up for a closer photo of the bush/tree I noticed another enjoying this wonderful ally!
This simple action, me coming along to briefly to enjoy this most wonderful creation just happens upon another wonderful creature being as still as possible, and watching me.
(I now officially know the JOY of happenstance)
I was sooo close to him. Very cool. We were kind of head to head really. This subtle feeling has stayed with me through my busy morning. I didn't even think of it again, because I had to go about my business.I just rounded the bend off to my morning job. When I got home and checked my email there was the photo and I was again ecstatic and went to work to publish it.
My intention was to share a visual identification of how Elder Bush looks in winter. I really didn't get a good look at it last fall while busily picking them beautiful berries. I was just so excited that the folks there shared the berries with me. The only others using the berries were the birds and I was sure to leave bunches for them by the home's front window because the house residents loved to watch the birds and squirls eat the berries. There were quite a lot of berries. The human women of the residence's father had been known to make wine when they were children from that same bush, so it was a part of the family and they were excited for someone to show an interest. I was quite honored. I gave them some of the jam as a thankyou. :D
(I now officially know the JOY of happenstance)
I was sooo close to him. Very cool. We were kind of head to head really. This subtle feeling has stayed with me through my busy morning. I didn't even think of it again, because I had to go about my business.I just rounded the bend off to my morning job. When I got home and checked my email there was the photo and I was again ecstatic and went to work to publish it.
My intention was to share a visual identification of how Elder Bush looks in winter. I really didn't get a good look at it last fall while busily picking them beautiful berries. I was just so excited that the folks there shared the berries with me. The only others using the berries were the birds and I was sure to leave bunches for them by the home's front window because the house residents loved to watch the birds and squirls eat the berries. There were quite a lot of berries. The human women of the residence's father had been known to make wine when they were children from that same bush, so it was a part of the family and they were excited for someone to show an interest. I was quite honored. I gave them some of the jam as a thankyou. :D
Can you see him?
Here is a close up of the base of the Elder Bush. It is beautiful, isn't it?
©Allisonians Please ask me for permission to use my photos or writing
Plant of the Day; marshmallow, mallow. This is the question and the answer. Here's my dried plant from this summer. I am going to work it into a cream with cleavers, or maybe in a facial mask form. I won't know until I get to start playing with it.
©Allisonians Please ask me for permission to use my photos or writing
Friday, January 6, 2012
PHOTO IS MINE~MY HYDRANGA TWIG TRANSPLANTS. {the parent plants are right behind them not in photo} I found this article from Kiva Rose and wanted to share it. It's About Herbal Diversity. By Rena A.D.
©Allisonians Please ask me for permission to use my photos. THANKS~~~
"I don’t have the answers. But answers don’t matter all that much: it’s the good questions that count. Ask yourself the powerful questions. Question your assumptions, evaluate your frameworks.
Most of all, design who you are from your heart’s passion and values. After all, you’re the creator of your life, legacy & practice." Rena A.D.
In The Know presents. Do You Have a Wheat Belly/ i.e. processed wheat/ And A Wonderful Yummy Brownie Recipe
Mocha Walnut Brownies
Posted on January 1, 2012 by Dr. Davis
If you haven’t already signed up for the Wheat Belly newsletter, please do so (left navigation bar). This was the recipe that we sent out recently. For anyone who hasn’t yet signed up, I reproduce it here.
Richer than a cookie, heavier than a muffin, brownies are ordinarily an indulgence that leaves you ashamed of your lack of restraint. Have one . . . or two or three, and you will surely pack on a pound of belly fat.
... But these mocha walnut brownies, as with other recipes I provide, will not pack on the pounds. With no wheat to trigger appetite, nor any readily-digestible carbohydrate to generate blood sugar highs and lows, you can have a nice brownie or two or three and nothing bad happens: You don’t send blood sugar sky-high, don’t trigger formation of small LDL particles and triglycerides, you don’t trigger appetite, you don’t gain a pound of belly fat. You simply have your brownie(s) and enjoy them.
Serve these brownies plain or topped with cream cheese, natural peanut or almond butter, or dipped in coffee.
Ingredients:
8 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate (100% chocolate)
4 tablespoons coconut oil or butter, melted
2 large eggs, separated
½ cup coconut milk (or sour cream)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups ground almonds
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder (or plain dried instant coffee)
Sweetener equivalent to 1 cup sugar or to taste (e.g., liquid stevia, Truvía, erythritol)
Preheat oven to 350º F.
Melt chocolate using double boiler method or in 15-second increments in microwave. Stir in melted coconut oil or butter.
In small bowl, beat egg whites until frothy. Add egg whites, egg yolks, coconut milk, and vanilla extract to chocolate mixture and mix thoroughly by hand.
In separate bowl, combine ground almonds, coconut flour, walnuts, cocoa powder, espresso, and sweetener. Mix thoroughly.
Add dry mix to chocolate mix and mix together thoroughly. If dough is too stiff, add additional coconut milk, one tablespoon at a time.
Place mixture in 9-inch square baking pan and bake for 25 -30 minutes or until toothpick withdraws
dry. 3 cheers to this yummy treat! hip Hip ha-ray x3
Posted on January 1, 2012 by Dr. Davis
If you haven’t already signed up for the Wheat Belly newsletter, please do so (left navigation bar). This was the recipe that we sent out recently. For anyone who hasn’t yet signed up, I reproduce it here.
Richer than a cookie, heavier than a muffin, brownies are ordinarily an indulgence that leaves you ashamed of your lack of restraint. Have one . . . or two or three, and you will surely pack on a pound of belly fat.
... But these mocha walnut brownies, as with other recipes I provide, will not pack on the pounds. With no wheat to trigger appetite, nor any readily-digestible carbohydrate to generate blood sugar highs and lows, you can have a nice brownie or two or three and nothing bad happens: You don’t send blood sugar sky-high, don’t trigger formation of small LDL particles and triglycerides, you don’t trigger appetite, you don’t gain a pound of belly fat. You simply have your brownie(s) and enjoy them.
Serve these brownies plain or topped with cream cheese, natural peanut or almond butter, or dipped in coffee.
Ingredients:
8 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate (100% chocolate)
4 tablespoons coconut oil or butter, melted
2 large eggs, separated
½ cup coconut milk (or sour cream)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups ground almonds
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder (or plain dried instant coffee)
Sweetener equivalent to 1 cup sugar or to taste (e.g., liquid stevia, Truvía, erythritol)
Preheat oven to 350º F.
Melt chocolate using double boiler method or in 15-second increments in microwave. Stir in melted coconut oil or butter.
In small bowl, beat egg whites until frothy. Add egg whites, egg yolks, coconut milk, and vanilla extract to chocolate mixture and mix thoroughly by hand.
In separate bowl, combine ground almonds, coconut flour, walnuts, cocoa powder, espresso, and sweetener. Mix thoroughly.
Add dry mix to chocolate mix and mix together thoroughly. If dough is too stiff, add additional coconut milk, one tablespoon at a time.
Place mixture in 9-inch square baking pan and bake for 25 -30 minutes or until toothpick withdraws
dry. 3 cheers to this yummy treat! hip Hip ha-ray x3
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Evening Primrose Work; Here now are my Evening Primroses
Well I just wrote a post on this and it got eaten by the mean pc'er hick-up computer nonsense that makes me go blah~~~. So, I think what I was saying is too personal. So, my thanks to our old departed friend Dave for this last wonderful gift. I found these primroses on the corner of where he lived, loved and was loved in his short beautiful life. Thank you Dave! We miss you!
I have been harvesting these little darlings since last fall. They are in abundance there on the corner of our friends now very say house. It is the shadow of our love for him now. Finding this treasure brings a new way of remembering our love for David. :D
I will post the photos of the plants I transplanted to the earth in my out-of-door garden asap. Cheers :D
©Allisonians Please ask me for permission to use my photos or writings. Thank you!
I have been harvesting these little darlings since last fall. They are in abundance there on the corner of our friends now very say house. It is the shadow of our love for him now. Finding this treasure brings a new way of remembering our love for David. :D
I will post the photos of the plants I transplanted to the earth in my out-of-door garden asap. Cheers :D
©Allisonians Please ask me for permission to use my photos or writings. Thank you!
AND THE INFAMOUS DAN DE LION ROOTS FROM MY BELOVED GRANDMA MAE'S DAN DE PATCH; THE RASCLY LION :d
I DRIED THESE AS THEY ARE IN THIS PHOTO.
IN TACK
JANUARY TASKS;
PENDING;
1. PLANT LIST OF COMMON AND LATIN NAMES;
WILL DO ASAP.
2. I have made cedar oil double infussed,
3. and I tryed the cream recipe with quite a lot of substitues. I love it, but it did not turn out together, it separates and I know why. So, I will publish my comments on that asap too.
4. Dug up dandelion roots, as they were covered and entangled in construction this fall. The earth is very wet as well, and this makes for easy digging. :D
5. I also transplanted 18 evening primroses I found BY CHANCE LAST FALL and have been weeding(tee-hee) the road side edge of them ever since. They are spectacular (my longterm goal is to distill them to make the oil of primrose myself! YUM). and I cut and planted 50 if not 100 hydranga clippings. I know it isn't the typical time of year, but the earth is really wet and easy to transplant.
Photo is of the Evening Primroses. I even have a tiny 1x1 pot with one in it. :D I'll take a photo of that one with the others that I brought inside asap.
My favorite saying of the week;
ASAP (:D)
©Allisonians Please ask me for permission to use my photos
1. PLANT LIST OF COMMON AND LATIN NAMES;
WILL DO ASAP.
2. I have made cedar oil double infussed,
3. and I tryed the cream recipe with quite a lot of substitues. I love it, but it did not turn out together, it separates and I know why. So, I will publish my comments on that asap too.
4. Dug up dandelion roots, as they were covered and entangled in construction this fall. The earth is very wet as well, and this makes for easy digging. :D
5. I also transplanted 18 evening primroses I found BY CHANCE LAST FALL and have been weeding(tee-hee) the road side edge of them ever since. They are spectacular (my longterm goal is to distill them to make the oil of primrose myself! YUM). and I cut and planted 50 if not 100 hydranga clippings. I know it isn't the typical time of year, but the earth is really wet and easy to transplant.
Photo is of the Evening Primroses. I even have a tiny 1x1 pot with one in it. :D I'll take a photo of that one with the others that I brought inside asap.
My favorite saying of the week;
ASAP (:D)
Sunday, January 1, 2012
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE BEAUTIFUL COWLITZ RIVER AND MISTER GOLDEN SUN~~~ 3 CHEERS~~~
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SOURDOUGH STARTER with WILD YEAST
Wild yeasts exist in the air around you and to some extent on the wheat berries. There are wild yeasts on grapes (unsulphured) and apples and other fruits. It is those wild yeasts which are 'captured' to make a sourdough starter. The process takes from 3 to 5 days. I wish I had specific amounts for you, but you could start with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of flour and mix in enough warm (not hot) water to make a thin paste. DO NOT make it too soupy. That, in fact, is the trick to a good starter, according to the French bread makers, and I think they should know. And after you've fooled around with the flour and water thing, you might wish to branch out into adding those unsulphured grapes, apples, sour milk, etc as a catalyst in order to capture other strains of yeast. Each of these strains has a slightly different taste. In fact if you move to another area, you might end up with a starter that produces an entirely different flavor. For instance, San Francisco sourdough bread is well known and has a distinct taste due to the wild strains in the air there. On day one you mix the flour and water (and add any catalysts to encourage fermentation) and place in a warm spot. After 3 days, the dough should be moist, inflated, and slightly sour. More flour and water is added (mixed in) and left to sit in a warm spot. After 2 days the process is repeated. Then the next day it is done again. Note the order: 3 days, 2 days, 1 day. At this point you should be able to make a loaf of bread using part of the starter and adding back what you took out in the form of more flour and water. Rule of thumb: Use about 10% starter to size of loaf. In the case of a 2 lb loaf this is a bit over 3 oz of starter (3.2 to be exact). For a 1 lb loaf 1.5 oz would be used. A book that describes this process in great detail is The Village Baker by Joe Ortiz, copyright 1993, published by Ten Speed Press, Berkley CA. If it's not still in print, try the used books stores, that's where I got mine. Or try your local library. If they don't have it, they might be able to get it for you. ©2008 by Ernestina Parziale
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Have a Great Day!